Die for cutting sheet material



May 3, 1938 c. E. REED V 2,116,354

DIE FOR CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL Original Filed Sept. 9; 1936 Fig.1.

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Charles E.Reed by/mdMlzW v ATTyS.

Patented May 3, 1938 PATENT OFFICE DIE FOR CUTTING SHEET MATERIAL Charles E. Reed, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Charles E. Reed & 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application September 9, 1936, Serial No. 99,993

Renewed October 5, 1937 3 Claim.

This invention relates to dies such as are used with so-called clicking machines for cutting out blanks from sheet material, and it relates particularly to dies of the double edge type comprising a core member and a cutting member in the form of a band encircling the core member and secured thereto.

Cutting dies of this type are commonly used by shoe manufacturers for cutting out of a hide the different pieces of leather which go into the manufacture of a shoe, and my invention has special advantages when embodied in a die for cutting out the pieces used in making a shoe, although it is applicable to dies designed for other uses.

With this type of die the shape and size of the piece which is blanked out from sheet metal is determined by the shape and size of the core member, and hence in making shoes of different sizes, but all having the same pattern, it will be necessary to provide a plurality of dies of diiferent sizes for each of the pieces of which the shoe upper is composed in order to provide pieces of the proper size to make the various sizes of shoes.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide a novel construction of die which can be made inexpensively so that it is possible to provide at a minimum expense dies of a variety of sizes to cut out each of the different parts of the shoe upper.

A further object of the invention is to provide a die which is so constructed that the core member thereof may be cut out of sheet material by means of a machine similar to the well-known grading machine which is commonly used in cutting out shoe patterns of various sizes from cardboard or other sheet material. These grading machines are constructed so that by making simple adjustments therein it is possible to cut out patterns similar in shape to a master pattern but of a different size.

My improved die is constructed so that core members of different sizes may be cut out of sheet material from a master pattern by a machine similar to the above mentioned grading machines thus making it possible to produce dies of diiferent sizes at a relatively small expense.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawing a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a die made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view showing the bifurcated rivet or fastening device used for securing the bandlike cutter to the core member.

Fig. 4 shows a portion of a band-like cutting member which may be used.

Fig. 5 is a sectional perspective View of a different form of cutting member.

Fig. 6 is a view of the die embodying my invention having a core with an open center.

As stated above my improved die is of the type 10 having a core member which is encircled by a band-like, double edge cutter member, the latter being secured to the periphery of the core member. In the drawing the core member of the die is indicated at l and the cutter member which surrounds and is secured to the periphery of the core member is indicated at 2. The core member is formed of sheet material, preferably sheet metal, and the cutting member 2 is in the form of a band which encircles the core member, said cutting member having its two edges 3 and 4 sharpened to provide a double edge cutter. The cutting member may be made of a single piece or may be made in sections as desired, and it also may be made in the form of a steel band as illustrated in Fig. 5, or may be made somewhat thicker as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The core member I is formed with a plurality of apertures 5 adjacent its periphery, and the cutting member 2 is also formed with apertures 6, there being one aperture 6 in the cutting member for each aperture 5 in the core member and the apertures 6 in the cutting member being situated opposite the apertures 5 in the core member.

The cutting member is secured to the core member by means of bifurcated rivets or fastening devices 1, such as are shown in Fig. 3. Each of these rivets has a head portion 8, a solid body portion 9 of a length equal to the thickness of the cutting member 2 and two legs 10 which are spaced apart a distance equal to the thickness of the core member I.

The band-like cutting member 2 is secured to the core member I by inserting the rivets l through the apertures 6 of the cutting member from the exterior with the legs of each rivet straddling the marginal portion of the core member, as shown in Fig. 2, and then bending or swaging the ends ll of the legs I0 into the apertures 5, as also seen in Fig. 2. For this purpose the fastening device I is made with legs H] of such a length that when the fastening device is fully inserted the ends ll of the legs ID will register with the apertures 5 so that said two ends of the legs may be readily bent into the aperture thereby anchoring the rivets to the core member.

The number and location of the apertures 5, 6 in the core member and cutting member respectively and the number of rivets l which are used for uniting the cutting member to the core member will vary depending upon the shape and size of the core member.

With this invention the assembling of the cutter member and core member is a very simple operation, it simply being necessary to insert the fastening devices I through the apertures E5 of the cutter member and then to bend the ends H of the legs I into the apertures of the core member.

While the core member is shown as having through apertures 5, yet the ends of each aperture might be considered as two opposed recesses formed in opposite faces of the core member I and into whichthe ends H of the legs It! were bent to lock the rivet member to the core member. Where the two opposed recesses communicate with each other there will be formed a through aperture, as shown in the drawing, but looked at in one way the structure may be considered as comprising a core member having on each side thereof a plurality of recesses adjacent its periphery with the recesses on one side registering with those on the other side, and a bandlike cutting member surrounding the core memher and secured thereto by bifurcated rivets ex-- tending through the cutting member and straddling the marginal portion of the core member with the ends of the legs of each rivet bent or depressed into the recesses of the core member.

The outer wall of each aperture 5 constitutes an inwardly-facing shoulder, and the operation of bending the ends [I of the legs H] of the studs 9 into the apertures causes said ends to be bent around or interlocked with this shoulder. The device, therefore, may be regarded as having a core member provided with inwardly-facing shoulders, a cutting member in the form of a band encircling the core member and bifurcated headed studs extending through the cutting member from the exterior thereof with the legs of each stud straddling the marginal portion of the core member and with the ends of the legs deformed to interlock with the inwardly-facing shoulders.

' provide it with ejecting springs l2 which are secured to each face thereof and the purpose of which is to eject the blank from the die as the latter is lifted from the work. An advantage of the open center or skeleton construction of core is that the stock underneath the die is visible through the opening I3, thus making it easier for the operator to properly position the die on the sheet material. Where the open center construc tion is employed it will not be necessary to use the ejecting springs as the operator can apply the ejecting force to the cut piece through the opening l3.

As stated above when a die of this type is used for cutting out the pieces forming the upper of a shoe it is necessary to provide die members having cores of different sizes for the different sizes of shoes.

The construction of my improved die is such that the core member can be made of relatively thin sheet metal which can be cut out of a large sheet on a machine of the grading machine type. With such a grading machine it is possible to cut out of sheet metal core members of diiferent sizes from a master pattern simply by making the adjustments in the grading machine which are usually made when the latter is used for cutting out shoe patterns of different sizes from a master pattern. This makes it possible to produce core membersof a variety of sizes at a relatively small expense, which, of course, is a decided advantage in the manufacture of shoes. The construction above described has the advantage that if the cutting member 2 becomes damaged or broken it can be readily removed from the core member and replaced by a new cutting member at a relatively small expense. This avoids the necessity of discarding the entire die in case the cutting portion becomes unfit for further use.

While the swaging of the rivet ends I l into the openings 5 of the core member provides a surficiently secure connection for ordinary purposes, yet if desired these rivet ends might be spotwelded together after having been swaged into the openings 5.

While I have illustrated herein a selected embodiment of my invention, yet I do not wish to be limited to the constructional features shown.

I claim: I

1. A die for cutting sheet material comprising a core member of sheet material having a plurality of recesses in each side thereof adjacent its periphery, a cutting member in the form of a band encircling the core member and bifurcated headed studs extending through the cutting member from the exterior with the legs of each stud straddling the marginal portion of the core member and the end of each leg bent into a recess of the core member. a

2. A die for cutting sheet material comprising a core member of sheet material having a plurality of openings therethrough adjacent its periphery, a cutting member in the form of a band encircling the core and bifurcated headed studs extending through the cutting member from the exterior thereof, the legs of each stud straddling the marginal portion of the core member and the end of each stud leg being bent into an opening in the core member.

3. A die for cutting sheet material comprising a core member of sheet material having inwardly-facing shoulders in its marginal portion, a cutting member in the form of a band encircling the core and bifurcated headed studs extending through the cutting member from the exterior thereof, the legs of each stud straddling the marginal portion of the core member and the ends of said legs being deformed to interlock with said shoulders.

CHARLES E. REED. 

